In an exclusive interview to Zee media, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday defended his Budget and stated that he has tried to give maximum relief to the salaried class.

Here are the top highlights of what he said in the interview-

- Salaried class is honest in paying their taxes. I tried to give relief to salaried class with my Budget. I have given several benefits to salaried class in the past three years and this time also, I have increased the deductions for their benefit.

- There are three sections - one that is privileged and can do things for others, the other is one that has worked hard to fulfill his aspirations, and then the third section is one that is underprivileged. Our policies need to revolve around this concept.

- Ayushman Bharat is a huge step towards dealing with the depreciation of healthcare facility. This needs work and a proper framework, so it will be rolled out next year.

- I want petrol, diesel to come under the ambit of GST from the next year but it depends on a lot of factors.

- Simultaneous election is a political issue, linking it with Budget is just politics.